Trifonic: Editing Beats – Part 2

I love it, I hope this site really takes off. I’m already telling my music buddies about it. Great job, and thank you for making this!

Thanks, appreciate you spreading the word! Let us know if there are particular topics, questions, etc. you’re especially interested in, and we’ll try to cover them.

LT

Thanks for the video and for the music. I've first heard the trifonic music in hybrid – soundsystem album, the track called Parks on Fire and it blew my mind.

Thanks for the video and for the music. I've first heard the trifonic music in hybrid – soundsystem album, the track called Parks on Fire and it blew my mind.

Really AMAZING!!!
Thanks a lot for this video, thanks for this blog and your special intention to share new methods and technics for get the sound/music to the -nextstep-.
Emergence: incredible album. My deepest congratulations!

Really AMAZING!!!
Thanks a lot for this video, thanks for this blog and your special intention to share new methods and technics for get the sound/music to the -nextstep-.
Emergence: incredible album. My deepest congratulations!

Great job guys, thank you for doing this!

Great job guys, thank you for doing this!

Thanks!

Thanks!

Very happy to hear that you're enjoying Emergence, thanks for the kind words. Please let us know if there are particular production topics/questions you want us to cover here… we'll do our best.

Very happy to hear that you're enjoying Emergence, thanks for the kind words. Please let us know if there are particular production topics/questions you want us to cover here… we'll do our best.

Thanks, any particular areas you'd like to see covered? Let us know!

Thanks, any particular areas you'd like to see covered? Let us know!

Awesome!!!
I can finally stop sitting on my hands..
Great first post hope to see a lot more

Awesome!!!
I can finally stop sitting on my hands..
Great first post hope to see a lot more

Thanks!

Thanks!

“You know what? Let's put a reverb on it. Why not?” -LOL

“You know what? Let's put a reverb on it. Why not?” -LOL

awesome man, keep them coming, they're great.

awesome man, keep them coming, they're great.

some bass tuts. awesome break goodies! thanks guys.

some bass tuts. awesome break goodies! thanks guys.

Just watched the first tutorial before this, and this one is great too. I was wondering if you might cover determining the BPM for a song. I'm using Logic 8 and I find that it's not accurate when I'm trying to find the tempo for full songs…works fine when I'm working with loops though. Thanks, and keep these tutorials coming…they're just what I was looking for!

Just watched the first tutorial before this, and this one is great too. I was wondering if you might cover determining the BPM for a song. I'm using Logic 8 and I find that it's not accurate when I'm trying to find the tempo for full songs…works fine when I'm working with loops though. Thanks, and keep these tutorials coming…they're just what I was looking for!

Thanks for the tutorials! They are well done: not too fast, not too slow -just right!

As a suggestion perhaps? I love the technique tutorials as much as the next person, but I find there aren't so many tutorials about the creative process. Sometimes when I am in “plug-in hell” the techniques seem to get in the way. Some example questions I might have:

-how do you know when you are done?
-how closely should I follow a genre?
-how recognizable should the genre be for the listener?
-how do I create more space in my mixes?
-etc.

Just some thoughts. Thanks again!

Thanks for the tutorials! They are well done: not too fast, not too slow -just right!

As a suggestion perhaps? I love the technique tutorials as much as the next person, but I find there aren't so many tutorials about the creative process. Sometimes when I am in “plug-in hell” the techniques seem to get in the way. Some example questions I might have:

-how do you know when you are done?
-how closely should I follow a genre?
-how recognizable should the genre be for the listener?
-how do I create more space in my mixes?
-etc.

Just some thoughts. Thanks again!

This is amazing! These stutters are so fun to build and you explained it so well, thanks for the pointers

This is amazing! These stutters are so fun to build and you explained it so well, thanks for the pointers

i would totally dig crazy filtered, glitched bass tutorials to go along with these drum edits. thanks for the vids…awesome!!!

i would totally dig crazy filtered, glitched bass tutorials to go along with these drum edits. thanks for the vids…awesome!!!

Thanks guys, bass tutorials are definitely in the works!

Thanks guys, bass tutorials are definitely in the works!

you are a fantastic teacher; the process is clear, and I also appreciate your explanations of your own preferences and how they relate to the various plug ins and sounds that you choose–thanks so much for these.

you are a fantastic teacher; the process is clear, and I also appreciate your explanations of your own preferences and how they relate to the various plug ins and sounds that you choose–thanks so much for these.

Hey Sean, the best way to determine the bpm for a song is to cut out and crop a 2 or 4 measure section and then use the “adjust tempo using region length and locators” or the shortcut 'Command + T.' It is easiest to calculate the tempo on a section of the song that has a very clear rhythmic pulse. This is fairly simple to do with electronic music, pop and most current genres. However if it is music that was not recorded to a click or has lots of tempo changes you might have to explore more beat mapping/tempo mapping options.

Hey Sean, the best way to determine the bpm for a song is to cut out and crop a 2 or 4 measure section and then use the “adjust tempo using region length and locators” or the shortcut 'Command + T.' It is easiest to calculate the tempo on a section of the song that has a very clear rhythmic pulse. This is fairly simple to do with electronic music, pop and most current genres. However if it is music that was not recorded to a click or has lots of tempo changes you might have to explore more beat mapping/tempo mapping options.

Thanks John! Great ideas. I will do some videos discussing the creative process and I'll make sure touch on some of the subjects you've suggested.

Thanks John! Great ideas. I will do some videos discussing the creative process and I'll make sure touch on some of the subjects you've suggested.

Thanks Craig! Glad you are enjoying the videos

Thanks Craig! Glad you are enjoying the videos

Great tutorial! Doing this stuff by hand in a vertical tracking environment is a lot of fun, I used to love to do this sort of chopping in Acid.
Check a video I made a while ago relevant for FLStudio users:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSLD-aGH02k
Keep up the good work! Subscrib'd!

Great tutorial! Doing this stuff by hand in a vertical tracking environment is a lot of fun, I used to love to do this sort of chopping in Acid.
Check a video I made a while ago relevant for FLStudio users:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSLD-aGH02k
Keep up the good work! Subscrib'd!

Awesome! Thanks for the tip!

Awesome! Thanks for the tip!

Good stuff!

I just got Logic Express 9, and I'm just beginning to figure it out, but here's a potentially useful tip: The new Flex Time feature makes it even easier to stretch regions without waiting for the computer to process it so frequently.

I've also got a request: I'd like to learn more about how to use Logic's built in vocoder synth, and I would welcome a Trifonic tutorial.

Good stuff!

I just got Logic Express 9, and I'm just beginning to figure it out, but here's a potentially useful tip: The new Flex Time feature makes it even easier to stretch regions without waiting for the computer to process it so frequently.

I've also got a request: I'd like to learn more about how to use Logic's built in vocoder synth, and I would welcome a Trifonic tutorial.

Fantastic Work! I have always wondered about the different methods for doing sliding timed cuts. I have attempted to get the effect using NI Spektral Delay but am always open to additional methods. Topics that I would love to see are:

1. Hand Sequencing Drums from One-Shots to build your own loops.
2. Vocal Processing (Doubling / Stereo Expansion / Etc – A'la the work you did on 'Lies'.)
3. Mixing and Mastering

Again, keep up the great work. Ya'll have quickly become one of my favorite producers not only because of the quality of your music but your contributions to the edm community.

Cheers

Fantastic Work! I have always wondered about the different methods for doing sliding timed cuts. I have attempted to get the effect using NI Spektral Delay but am always open to additional methods. Topics that I would love to see are:

1. Hand Sequencing Drums from One-Shots to build your own loops.
2. Vocal Processing (Doubling / Stereo Expansion / Etc – A'la the work you did on 'Lies'.)
3. Mixing and Mastering

Again, keep up the great work. Ya'll have quickly become one of my favorite producers not only because of the quality of your music but your contributions to the edm community.

Cheers

thnx for sharing!
Nice to see how you push logic to the limits.
very inspiring!

thnx for sharing!
Nice to see how you push logic to the limits.
very inspiring!

Nice tricks! I can't wait for more

Nice tricks! I can't wait for more

Very great tutorials! I would like to see a bassline tutorial too. I really like the bassline in your track “parks on fire”!

Very great tutorials! I would like to see a bassline tutorial too. I really like the bassline in your track “parks on fire”!

i really appreciate that these tutorials focus on manual design rather than relying on automation to glitch out the beats for you. it allows you think about how you would want to design your beats from the ground up and thus allows you to use plug ins more effectively later. i also appreciate the use of amen break despite its familiarity. using that break demystifies the work you are doing since we have all heard it so many times and its clear how you are manipulating it. thanks for sharing your techniques, further proof that if you're creative and confident sharing your methods isn't scary at all!

i really appreciate that these tutorials focus on manual design rather than relying on automation to glitch out the beats for you. it allows you think about how you would want to design your beats from the ground up and thus allows you to use plug ins more effectively later. i also appreciate the use of amen break despite its familiarity. using that break demystifies the work you are doing since we have all heard it so many times and its clear how you are manipulating it. thanks for sharing your techniques, further proof that if you're creative and confident sharing your methods isn't scary at all!

Love your no-nonsense approach! These techniques would work in pretty much any DAW.

Love your no-nonsense approach! These techniques would work in pretty much any DAW.

Fantastic tutorials. Most of this is stuff I've done myself before, but the videos are worth it for the time-saving shortcuts alone! You have no idea how much of this stuff I'd do manually piece by piece without having thought to select a pile of regions (for gating, for example), or did with just the mouse and didn't realize the keyboard shortcuts that would make life easier. (I don't know if I've *ever* pressed Option in Logic before, for example, and to make slices I was setting the time division value and moving forward by divisions then hitting the cut key. Eek!)

Anyway, thanks a lot, and this was great stuff.

Also, as people have pointed out, it's nice to see that the simple techniques scale to the massive sound that you folks achieve. It makes it seem so much more accessible!

Fantastic tutorials. Most of this is stuff I've done myself before, but the videos are worth it for the time-saving shortcuts alone! You have no idea how much of this stuff I'd do manually piece by piece without having thought to select a pile of regions (for gating, for example), or did with just the mouse and didn't realize the keyboard shortcuts that would make life easier. (I don't know if I've *ever* pressed Option in Logic before, for example, and to make slices I was setting the time division value and moving forward by divisions then hitting the cut key. Eek!)

Anyway, thanks a lot, and this was great stuff.

Also, as people have pointed out, it's nice to see that the simple techniques scale to the massive sound that you folks achieve. It makes it seem so much more accessible!

Kind of takes away from the mystery of it but it's cool to see how they do it.

Kind of takes away from the mystery of it but it's cool to see how they do it.

Cool! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for the topic suggestions, I'll keep them in mind.

Cool! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for the topic suggestions, I'll keep them in mind.

Thanks! I'm planning to show a lot of things in Logic, but also some techniques in Ableton Live and possibly Pro Tools as well. Each tool has its strengths and quirks so we end up using a few different daw's in the studio

Thanks! I'm planning to show a lot of things in Logic, but also some techniques in Ableton Live and possibly Pro Tools as well. Each tool has its strengths and quirks so we end up using a few different daw's in the studio

Thanks Seth! I think understanding the manual way to do things also helps you extract better results from the available automated tools as well. We use NI Reaktor, and other automated programs to do some of the tweaky sounds in conjunction with the manual chop/copy methods, but even the Reaktor generated edits often get manually chopped/processed so that they fit better in the context. Bottom line it is good to know all the various methods of executing a technique….. “because knowing is half the battle”

Thanks Seth! I think understanding the manual way to do things also helps you extract better results from the available automated tools as well. We use NI Reaktor, and other automated programs to do some of the tweaky sounds in conjunction with the manual chop/copy methods, but even the Reaktor generated edits often get manually chopped/processed so that they fit better in the context. Bottom line it is good to know all the various methods of executing a technique….. “because knowing is half the battle”

cool! That is the plan. I don't want to be overly DAW focused…I'm trying to keep things concept oriented, and over time I'll show some things in Ableton Live and possibly others as well.

cool! That is the plan. I don't want to be overly DAW focused…I'm trying to keep things concept oriented, and over time I'll show some things in Ableton Live and possibly others as well.

Thanks for the comment. Fortunately the majority of cool sounds and techniques are based on simple ideas and concepts. The hard part is getting everything to work together, express emotion and musically create something meaningful

Thanks for the comment. Fortunately the majority of cool sounds and techniques are based on simple ideas and concepts. The hard part is getting everything to work together, express emotion and musically create something meaningful

Yes I agree with everyone above … Great way to present things!

Just 3 questions regarding the cut-up process.

- What you do in the first cutting part is really to set every hit to a strict beat division ?
- In the sampler window have you set the “snap edits to zero crossing” ?
- and you don't use fade ins/outs even one the longer regions ? Is this because the tempo is too fast ?

L.

Yes I agree with everyone above … Great way to present things!

Just 3 questions regarding the cut-up process.

- What you do in the first cutting part is really to set every hit to a strict beat division ?
- In the sampler window have you set the “snap edits to zero crossing” ?
- and you don't use fade ins/outs even one the longer regions ? Is this because the tempo is too fast ?

L.

Yeah I cut the loop at the strict beat division and then adjust the start point of each region … that puts the correct start point right on the beat division. Definitely turn off “snap edits to zero crossing” in the sample editor. I don't use fade outs unless I hear a click and it bothers me. If I don't hear a click or if the click sounds good I don't do a fade out. There usually isn't a need for a fade in, because in the case of percussion sounds, the transient is very punchy anyway and if it clicks it often brings out the transient even more. It depends on the material though.

Yeah I cut the loop at the strict beat division and then adjust the start point of each region … that puts the correct start point right on the beat division. Definitely turn off “snap edits to zero crossing” in the sample editor. I don't use fade outs unless I hear a click and it bothers me. If I don't hear a click or if the click sounds good I don't do a fade out. There usually isn't a need for a fade in, because in the case of percussion sounds, the transient is very punchy anyway and if it clicks it often brings out the transient even more. It depends on the material though.

Hello Brain.

Thanks a lot for your answers. This helps a lot!

It's exactly like Peter Kirn writes on his blogs when posting about your site :”Part of what makes this tutorial compelling is that the duo has a distinctive musical identity, rather than being the anonymous, all-knowing voice music tech instructors had tried to be in the past”

I really hope you keep on posting here.

L.

Hello Brian.

Thanks a lot for your answers. This helps a lot!

It's exactly like Peter Kirn writes on his blogs when posting about your site :”Part of what makes this tutorial compelling is that the duo has a distinctive musical identity, rather than being the anonymous, all-knowing voice music tech instructors had tried to be in the past”

I really hope you keep on posting here.

L.

All is being VERY interesting! Really! Only adding any idea, I would like to know any technic or inspirational factor for your acoustic parts, that guitars are beautiful!
Trifonic and Emergence is becoming my best example of modern electronic music experience!

Cheers,
morphido

All is being VERY interesting! Really! Only adding any idea, I would like to know any technic or inspirational factor for your acoustic parts, that guitars are beautiful!
Trifonic and Emergence is becoming my best example of modern electronic music experience!

Cheers,
morphido